How to Build Scalable Web Applications: Tips & Success Cases

5 min readNov 11, 2024

Discover the ins and outs of designing scalable web applications and learn how to make your app grow as your business expands.

Web app scalability enables applications to handle increased traffic, data, and resource demands while maintaining performance. Scalable web applications offer benefits like reliability, security, high performance, and easy maintenance.

Even if your app doesn’t require handling billions of requests, investing in scalability supports gradual, steady growth. Without scalability, performance issues may arise, risking user loss and higher costs for fixes.

In this article, Acropolium explores how to build scalable web applications, covering key benefits, effective frameworks, and real-world success stories with insights from our two-decade expertise.

Why Businesses Need Scalable Web Apps

The main reasons to invest in developing a scalable web app include higher performance, global reach, cost-efficiency, faster load times, and simplified maintenance.

Scalability is a web app’s ability to deal with increased user load and data demands without sacrificing performance or response time. While scalability may be unnecessary for small apps with limited growth, it’s essential for any business planning to expand and serve a larger user base.

Without scalability, high traffic and added features can lead to slower load times, frequent errors, and crashes. Anticipating growth and building a scalable web application from the start can prevent potential hurdles and unlock critical advantages, including:

High performance ensures the app remains operational and responsive, minimizing potential revenue loss from downtime.
Global reach supports a worldwide user base through robust server networks.
Cost efficiency simplifies management and reduces maintenance costs, especially with cloud solutions over in-house infrastructure.
Reliability and security offers resilient security, with cloud and multi-server solutions to ensure data recovery.
Faster load times reduce wait times, enhancing customer satisfaction and boosting revenue.
Room for improvement easily accommodates new features without performance risks.
Enhanced user experience provides consistent, high-quality interactions even during peak usage.
Simplified maintenance and updates allow for modular updates without disrupting the entire system.

Things to Know for Building Scalable Web Applications

Scaling a web app typically relies on cloud computing to handle growing user demand without sacrificing performance. As the global cloud computing market is expected to grow from $652.03B in 2024 to $2.3 trillion by 2032, using cloud-based solutions is a practical choice for scalable web architecture. Here’s a quick guide to core aspects of scalability:

Front-end architecture. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) leverage cloud servers to improve load speed, distributing heavy content to users globally and ensuring fast access.
Backend architecture. To scale efficiently, consider vertical or horizontal scaling. Vertical scaling increases server capacity for immediate performance boosts but may not prevent future issues. Horizontal scaling, in turn, adds more servers to balance load, reducing reliance on a single server and providing greater resilience.
Database scaling addresses data growth with cloud-based strategies like replication and sharding. Replication creates database copies across the cloud, handling portions of data requests and improving read speed and recovery. Sharding distributes data across cloud-based databases, allowing the app to manage rising user traffic smoothly.
Multi-tier architectures separate client-side, application, and database functions across cloud modules, keeping each layer focused and efficient for better performance. Each layer performs dedicated tasks, preventing overload. The client-side server handles user interactions, the application server manages processing, and the database server focuses on data access, excluding static content.

How to Create Scalable Web Applications: 6 Tips

Before building a scalable web application, make sure to assess your goals and metrics, familiarize yourself with leading database solutions and scaling methods, and use modern architectures.

Building a scalable web application requires a clear strategy, efficient practices, and selecting the right tools. Here’s a streamlined approach to help guide the process.

1. Define Goals and Metrics

First, determine if scalability aligns with your business needs. High traffic and future growth potential justify the investment, while smaller projects may not require it. Once decided, monitor essential metrics to assess performance, such as CPU usage, network input/output, disk I/O, and memory utilization. These key performance indicators help ensure resources are effectively allocated as your app scales.

2. Embrace Cloud Solutions

Cloud computing offers the infrastructure for scalable web apps, with market leaders like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud providing a range of services like networking, storage, and database management. Cloud-based auto-scaling also allows for dynamic adjustments in resources, reducing manual effort and ensuring balanced performance during demand spikes.

3. Microservices and Horizontal Scaling

Opt for modern architecture to compartmentalize functionality, making it easier to develop, deploy, and scale specific features independently. Horizontal scaling — adding servers to distribute load — is preferable over vertical scaling for long-term reliability and avoiding single points of failure.

4. Database and Data Management

A scalable web app needs a database architecture capable of processing high volumes of data efficiently. Options like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and NoSQL databases such as MongoDB offer flexibility for various data types. For large-scale applications, consider creating and distributing data across multiple databases, which can improve response times and support an expanding user base.

5. Employ Efficient Scaling Techniques

Utilize independent nodes, caching, proxy servers, load balancers, and queues. Independent nodes allow for isolated management of features, while caches store frequently accessed data to reduce database strain. Proxy servers streamline requests, and load balancers distribute them, improving speed and reliability. Queues enable users to continue tasks while waiting for responses, enhancing user experience.

6. Choose a Suitable Tech Stack

Selecting a robust tech stack like React, Node.js, Django, or Java Spring is fundamental for scalable application development. Each technology offers distinct advantages, from Angular’s rapid front-end development to Node.js’s efficiency with microservices. Ensure your choice aligns with your scalability goals and has sufficient community support for ongoing development.

Adopting Scalable Web Architectures: Success Cases

Several companies have successfully implemented scalable web architectures, demonstrating how such approaches can enhance operational efficiency and user satisfaction.

Netflix

With 247.2 million paid subscribers, Netflix utilizes cloud infrastructure and advanced Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to provide seamless streaming, even during peak times.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a leading file hosting service with over 700 million registered users. Its scalable architecture supports secure storage and efficient collaboration, catering to various business needs.

Shopify

Shopify empowers over 1 million clients in the U.S. to build and manage their online stores, offering integrated marketing and payment tools within a scalable platform.

Airbnb

Airbnb connects travelers with hosts globally, managing millions of listings and bookings. In 2022, it recorded over 393 million booked nights, thanks to its scalable web app that handles high traffic.

Walmart

As the world’s largest retail corporation, Walmart has successfully scaled its online platform to compete with eCommerce giants like Amazon, supporting a vast network of customers.

Final Thoughts

Scalability is essential for navigating increasing traffic, staying competitive, and enhancing user satisfaction — all of which can drive revenue growth.

We hope this guide on building scalable web applications has provided valuable insights. And if you have further questions, Acropolium is here to assist you.

With over 20 years of experience, Acropolium has successfully delivered web products across 13 industries, including transportation, healthcare, fintech, and retail. Our expert team specializes in custom web app development, Backend-as-a-Service, database management, cloud solutions, and re-engineering services.